The Gospel According To Mark Essay

The Gospel According to Mark is the second book in the New Testament. Although the author is presumably John Mark, there has been no evidence to prove this. It has been estimated by scholars that The Gospel According to Mark was written between sixty and seventy of the first century. During this time period, there was a lot of change going on in Jerusalem and surrounding areas. Life in the mid-first century was anything but easy; Christians were being punished for their beliefs, Jerusalem was invaded, and Rome was set on fire. There was so much fear, especially in the areas of Rome, Egypt, and Jerusalem. When Saint Mark wrote the Gospel According to Mark, it was a very brave feat, as it could have meant death for him, mostly because Emperor

The first emperor to succeed Nero was Galba. Galba became unpopular quickly, due to taking money from towns and executing anyone who did not immediately accept him. He was killed by the Praetorian Guard (Herbert). Following Galba, was Ortho, who could not compete with Vitellius, who had set up an army against him. Ortho committed suicide, while only being emperor for only three months (Herbert). Vitellius took over as emperor after Ortho, which also ended relatively fast. He made enemies quickly by being ruthless and executing anyone who demanded he repay debts that he was accruing. Due to his negligence and ruthlessness, he ended up being killed by Vespasian’s men, and ultimately Vespasian became the emperor (Herbert). He founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled for twenty-seven 27 years, although he only ruled from 69 through 79. He was in Egypt when the Senate announced him the emperor in December of 69 (Herbert). He handed over the war on the Jews to his eldest son, Titus, who went forward with city and watched as they went into starvation (Herbert). They also burned the temple, although it is rumored that Titus had wanted them to preserve it, not destroy it. The remaining Jews were either killed or sold as slaves (Herbert). After the fall of Jerusalem, the Christians and the Jews became even more